What we know about those who died in the Cooke County tornado Saturday night
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North Texas tornado
Seven people were killed when a line of storms moved through southern Cooke and northern Denton counties late Saturday night. Damage stretched from Valley View to Ray Roberts State Park.
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The tornado that ripped through Valley View on Saturday night destroyed more than 200 homes and other structures, damaged another 120 buildings, and injured around 100 people.
Seven people were killed.
It was the deadliest tornado in Texas since Dec. 26, 2015, when 10 people died after an EF4 twister hit the Garland and Rowlett area in east Dallas County.
Laura Esparza and two of her children, 15-year-old Miranda and 9-year-old Marco Esparza, were among those killed in the storm. Their neighbor, 47-year-old Jose Narango, told the Star-Telegram he was sheltering with 12 family members in his mother’s kitchen when the tornado hit their mobile home across the street from the Esparza family.
When the tornado — an EF3 with wind speeds up to 140 mph — moved on, Narango found Cuco Esparza trapped between two cars, screaming and writhing in pain, looking for his wife.
Narango and others used their cellphone lights to search for the family members. They found Miranda, the daughter, dead. Then they found Marco, the son, pinned under a truck. Laura was found dead in her gold SUV.
Two more siblings who were 2 years old and 5 years old were killed, according to the Cooke County Sheriff’s Office. WFAA-TV identified them as Essence McCrary, 2, and her brother Tyrique McCrary, 5.
The children were missing for several hours until being found dead near a pond, where three other injured siblings had been located earlier, KXAS-TV reported. The tornado pulled the children from their home, where a sixth sibling was unharmed.
The family of Victor Manuel Ortiz has identified him as one of the other two adults killed in the tornado, sharing their story in a GoFundMe and asking for help.
“All we could do is pray for any information, after a long night we find out 2 family member were hospitalized,” Amber Ortiz wrote in the GoFundMe description. “One of them being my father-in-law who is currently hospitalize and recovering from surgery. Along the side with his mother who also is hospitalize and luckily stable.”
The news that Victor Ortiz had died came Sunday morning.
“We are all devastated losing such a great member of our family, still processing the effects of this tornado and now mourning the live of our dear loved one,” Amber Ortiz wrote.
Ortiz was a husband, father and grandfather who was loved by his family, according to the GoFundMe.
KXAS identified the other adult who was killed as Loyd Watson, who was sheltering in his mobile home in Valley View with his two adult sons when the home was blown apart.
This story was originally published May 27, 2024 at 2:20 PM.
